A man is thought to have been hit by a thug with a car wheel jack and another holding a car tyre lever in a 'horrifying' attack on a Norwich street.

A 45-year-old man was taken to hospital for treatment following the early-evening incident on Colman Road which was witnessed by a man out running together with several other passers-by.

The runner, a man in his 40s who wants to remain anonymous, said the attack happened near to the parade of shops on Colman Road at about 6.30pm on Wednesday, January 11.

He said: 'At first I couldn't quite make out what was going but there were three men circling each other in the road.

'When I got closer I could see one man being threatened by two other men. They were circling around him and he was trying to stay out of reach of them.

'The two men were holding weapons at head height and were clearly trying to hit the man. It looked like one man was holding a car wheel jack and the other was wielding a car tyre lever.'

The eyewitness said he called police as soon as he realised what was happening and then saw the two men jump into a silver car with a woman passenger before driving off.

He said: 'The guy they attacked had a head wound and there was a fair amount of blood on his head and neck.

'It was a pretty horrifying thing to see in Norwich at that time of day. On the plus side about three people did stop to try and help and that says a lot.'

The man, who was able to note down the registration number of the car, said he hoped the victim was 'okay' following the ordeal.

Police and ambulance crews were quickly on scene to take witness statements and treat the injured man who was taken to hospital.

A spokesman for Norfolk police confirmed they were investigating an assault on a 45-year-old man by two other males at about 6.50pm on Wednesday, January 11.

He said there was an altercation between three males which ended up in the 45-year-old being assaulted.

Anyone who witnessed the attack or who has further information about it should contact Det Con Mark Joyce at Norfolk police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Have you got a crime story for the Evening News? Call reporter Peter Walsh on 01603 772436 or email peter.walsh@archant.co.uk